Kevan
Kevan, Earl of Io, is the son of Arisse and Nalin, half-brother of Hyacinth, brother of Corisande and Charmion, and uncle of Briony and Noll. He's violent and emotionally unstable, making him a black sheep amongst his family and the nobility. He's one of Elodie's marriage options, available as long as he reaches Week 39 alive. As the game itself informs you, marrying him isn't a very good idea unless Elodie is well informed of the Lillah-Mead family problems. He is at the center of a terrible family secret... Spoiler Warning: ''Plot details follow, read at your own risk'' Involvement Week 13 He will appeal for Elodie to judge the attempted murder of his sister Corisande, by poisoning. A sufficiently high score in Internal Affairs reveals that the poisoner's motivation was the death of her brother, caused by the deceased Hyacinth. Kevan is furious and very protective of his family and their honor; if Elodie isn't tactful she'll offend him, making him lose it and kill the condemned woman himself, but if Elodie passes a Court Manners >60 or Internal Affairs >100 check she'll calmly inform the poisoner of the truth and pacify Kevan. Week 15 Elodie receives a letter from Briony concerning her family and the aftermath of the poisoner's judgement. If Elodie pardoned the poisoner or insulted Kevan, the letter comments on him still fuming from the aftermath; if Elodie punished the poisoner or resolved the situation peacefully, the letter comments on how Briony has seen Kevan in the hallways muttering to himself and shouting at shadows. Week 31 If Briony was happily reunited with Corisande, a letter arrives from her. Pass a Ciphering >30 check to discover an awful family secret concerning Corisande, Kevan and their late stepfather Jael. This unlocks the "Discovered a terrible family secret" achievement and the best possible Marriage Epilogue for Kevan. Week 33 If either Briony or Arisse died under any circumstances, Kevan will challenge Elodie to a duel at the end of the tournament. This unlocks the "Been challenged to a duel" achievement and (obviously) locks you into his worst Marriage Epilogue. Kevan can either die by magic fire, Elodie's sword or being pincushioned with arrows; if Elodie strikes him down in a stave duel, the text doesn't clarify his death, but it's likely. Alternatively, he will survive if Elodie subdues him non-lethally in a stave duel, convinces him not to kill her if she loses the stave duel, or has her falcon defend her. Week 39 and Epilogues If Elodie has not formed a marriage alliance by the time of her coronation, and Kevan reaches the end of the game alive, he will be a possible marriage prospect for her. Even though an earl is a relatively low rank, his family connections (to Corisande and Arisse) make him a powerful ally. However, the marriage will only actually take place if Elodie has learned about his past from Briony--if she doesn't know, Kevan will turn her down, and if Briony or Arisse is dead he will try to kill her on their wedding day. Personality and Abilities Kevan is violent, unstable, volatile and emotionally dependent on his family. What Jael did to him in the past, and his family's responses to it, has left him deeply traumatized and with crippling trust issues. His trust issues are the reason for his overprotectiveness of his family and his emotional dependency on them. He has a love-hate relationship with his mother. On one hand, he resents her for ordering Jael's death, and does as possible to stay away from her; on the other hand, he's just as protective of her as he is of the rest of his family, and will react very badly to any harm befalling her. His relationship to his sister Corisande is a more ambiguous matter. The game does explicitly confirm an incestuous affair between the two, but doesn't clarify on their motivations. It can be inferred that Kevan's lie along the lines of the need of an emotional crutch and not on carnal desires, given his own history with sexuality. It's very difficult for anyone outside of his family to gain his trust, but if they do then his protectiveness and dependency extends to them. If Elodie successfully marries Kevan, after months of suspicion and distance, he will become devoted to her, to the extent of him openly admitting to being unable to live without Elodie. He seems to be on the belief that whatever Jael did to him was "seduction", a consensual relationship, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary: their stepfather-stepson relationship, Kevan's age at the time, Jael's history of violence, Arisse's reaction... This might be a result of both his own trauma and medieval mentality, which often held the victim responsible for their own assault. The game explicitly describes him suffering from hallucinations ("shouting at shadows"); coupled with his behavior and violent tendencies, it's pretty obvious that he suffers from psychological disorders. Given the medieval setting, this is never explored. He keeps to himself most of the time, most likely a result of his own paranoia, which is the reason why he doesn't attend any social events; given his infamy amongst nobility, is not like anyone really tries. Kevan is skilled in fencing; coupled with him bringing armor to the duel, this means you will need almost perfect checks (Swords >90) if you accept his challenge during Week 33. He's much less skilled in polearms, but still enough that Elodie will need to pass a high check (Polearms >65) to win. Kevan's Secret Some conversations with Arisse and Briony allude to Kevan's terrible secret, and if the player intends to successfully marry him then they must learn what this secret is. To do so: * Go to the party during Week 28, pass a Lore or Novan History check when talking to Briony and choose "Offer to help". The next week, pass a Conversation check and choose "Ask about Briony's parents". The in the following weeks, Briony will confront her mother about her neglect, return home peacefully and later send Elodie a letter; pass a Ciphering check to reveal a secret code describing the family's dark secrets. (Note: if Ignatius is Duke of Ursul, the same letter will include both the "divorce" message as well as the "family secret" message.) Marriage Conditions If he's still alive during Week 39 he will automatically appear on the list of candidates. However, the marriage epilogue will vary depending on several conditions: Trivia * Kevan presents behavior, such as suspecting everyone outside his family of heinous crimes and according to Briony shouting at the shadows, as if expecting hidden enemies within them that he suffers from mental illness. Likely the result of trauma, he may have also had an underlying inherent condition. If that is true, Jael could have used that to prey on him. ** As the setting is medieval fantasy what if any help he may be getting or have gotten is unclear. * It's possible for him to barely survive an ironic death: if he slit the throat of the poisoner during Week 13 and isn't talked down after the stave duel during Week 33, he will be restrained by onlookers and one will try to slit Kevan's throat before being stopped by Elodie. * In another bout of irony: the poisoner of Week 13 tried to kill his sister out of misguided revenge; Kevan himself will try to kill Elodie out of misguided revenge if Briony dies (that is, if Elodie didn't send Briony alone or abandoned her during the "forest adventure"). * Io, a moon of Jupiter, is the most volative object in the Solar System. This makes Kevan's title very appropriate, given his temper... Category:Characters Category:Marriage Candidates